On a day where an armed militia, with tens of thousands of rounds of live ammunition, who destroyed a community, vandalized Indian artifacts, interfered with wildlife management, and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, is declared not guilty of conspiracy and firearm charges, I need to flee. Here is where I go……..

Did you know that the largest island in the Columbia river, a piece of land the size of Manhattan, lies 10 miles north of Portland? Yep, you do: you know it as Sauvies Island, bordered by the Columbia river, the Multnomah channel and the Willamette. It is an easily accessible paradise for bird watchers, bike riders, nude bathers, kayakers and the rest of humanity that wants to hike extensive loops, admire the smallest light tower in OR, or go for u-pick bounty from spring to fall.

 

It was, however, no longer paradise for the Multnomah Indians after they greeted the George Vancouver expedition in 1792 only to be wiped out subsequently by small pox, syphilis, measles and tuberculosis. The island was originally called Wapato Island after a potato-like plant that grew there in abundance. The name was changed to Sauvies after an employee of the Hudson Bay Company, Laurent Sauvé, started to operate the first dairies on the island in 1836.

It is still rural today, with a few large and many smaller farms working the land; large portions of the island are closed off during many month of the year to guarantee safety for thousands of migrating and/or nesting birds. Hunting is part of life on the island, as is training of hunting dogs. Again, partial closures enable these sports and keep he rest of us safe. You need to have daily or annual permits to park anywhere, which is money going into preservation of the island, well spent.

 

Here is what the NYT had to say: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/21/travel/an-island-world-next-door-to-a-city.html almost 20 years ago. Not much has changed other than a new bridge.

The land is flat, rich, crisscrossed with lakes and small streams, a haven for large stands of oaks, that are slowly dying from diseases we don’t know how to treat.  The sky is low, and ever changing, just like the skies back in Holland. Two tiny convenient stores, a few farm stands and no gas station make life only possible for those who plan and organize and don’t forget half of what they meant to buy every time they visit a grocery store…